New bank's loan scheme to make £250m available

Date: 20th October 2011

Small businesses struggling to access credit in the UK will be boosted by the scope of a new bank's lending plans.

Shawbrook Bank, which opened its doors to the public earlier this week, has announced ambitious lending targets for the coming year.

The establishment has said that it hopes to make £250 million available to the country's smaller firms by the end of 2012.

It comes as the Royal Bank of Scotland announced a new loan scheme, which also aims to bring funds to those who would not normally obtain a loan from a mainstream bank.

However, with just £5 million being made available, the scheme is dwarfed by Shawbrook's ambitious vision.

The banks' plans come despite the country's leading lenders signing up to Project Merlin, which offered them legislative restraint if they pledged to lend more money to smaller firms.

However, despite the launch of Project Merlin, Owen Woodley, chief executive at Shawbrook, said: "It is clear that the small enterprise sector is massively under-served today."

Posted by Emily Smith